Better than Best? It might need thumbscrews before Manchester United's supporters of a certain generation accept the arguments in favour of Cristiano Ronaldo, certainly until he starts to bewitch foreign grounds in the way George Best once did, but the current darling of Old Trafford is entitled to feel a great deal of satisfaction that he has succeeded in making it a legitimate debate, at the very least.

Sir Alex Ferguson's confidence in Ronaldo is such that he gave him his first outing last night as captain, and typically the most penetrative player in English football rose to the challenge, becoming the central figure in a victory that put United three points clear at the top of the Premier League.

Ronaldo scored both goals, the second another sumptuous demonstration of the art of striking a stationary ball, to take his personal tally to 33 for the season and he can now claim to have outdone Best in at least one way, El Beatle having stood as United's most prolific winger since scoring 32 times in the 1967-68 season. Many of United's followers must have thought that record would never be broken but Ronaldo, El Brylcreem, has managed it in 37 appearances - compared with Best's 52 - and he did it with some panache, too, on an evening of huge satisfaction for the champions, one in which Ferguson's decision to rest so many players never came close to backfiring.

Ferguson's team selection was one of his more daring gambles, starting with the kind of experimental team that is usually required to fulfil Carling Cup fixtures. A better side than Bolton might have found it a form of inspiration - these chances do not come along very often, after all - but the problem for Gary Megson was that his players had neither the wit nor the gumption to do anything about it.

Instead, it felt very much like business as usual, the same routine albeit with some different faces, and Ronaldo quickly set about showing that, of all the requirements to be a decent captain, the most important is to lead by example.

His first goal arrived while Megson was still on his first stick of chewing gum, lashing a loose ball past Ali Al Habsi after the Bolton defence had failed to clear Nani's corner.

But it was the moment in the 19th minute which will linger in the memory - a dipping, swerving, 30-yard free-kick over the defensive wall and down, swirling through the air like a beach ball on a gusty day.

Ronaldo had done the same thing at the other end of the ground to beat David James of Portsmouth in a league match in January. This time it was Al Habsi's turn to stand motionless as the ball arrowed into the net. It was the fifth time Ronaldo has scored from a free-kick this season and this one could not have been more impressive had it had been directed by computer.

In between, Tomasz Kuszczak justified his surprise inclusion by keeping out Kevin Davies's volley, but it was a rare breakaway and Bolton, third from bottom and in serious danger of adding to Megson's list of relegations, quickly settled into their role of passive victims.

It is a measure of their problems that the starting line-up had a combined total of five goals all season. Tellingly, the team have managed only seven in the 12 games since Nicolas Anelka was sold and Megson cut a solitary figure as he stood on the touchline, watching the rest of the night unfold.

The only consolation was that United were generous opponents, resorting to some of the overindulgence in front of goal that led to Ferguson complaining before the match that the team needed to be more ruthless. There were still plenty of occasions when the gulf in class was brutally apparent, with Anderson and Nani eager to impress and Gerard Piqué untroubled in place of the injured Rio Ferdinand. Yet United's supremacy did not yield the thrashing that had looked on the cards early on and, in sporadic bursts, Bolton even mounted a few attacks of their own.

The game was won, of course, and the Stretford End was in fine voice, particularly when the news came through of the result from White Hart Lane. "Viva Ronaldo," they sang and, as the reigning player of the year waved in appreciation, it seemed a foregone conclusion that this season's individual award will be heading his way once again.